A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry Background notes

Social Background- Published in ______, four years after ______was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white person on a bus, sparking the ______, Hansberry’s play illustrates black America’s struggle to gain equal access to opportunity and expression of cultural identity.

Sentiments in A Raisin… will be echoed by ______in later speeches, marches, and rallies

In ______, King leads a ______of the bus laws.

In 1954, the ______found in favor of the plaintiffs in the Brown v. The Board of Education case. However, the ______of schools didn’t begin to take effect until ______. Moreover, the case’s decision did not abolish segregation in other public areas, such as restaurants and restrooms.

Hansberry’s Background - A Raisin…is the ______be produced on Broadway.

Lorraine Hansberry took the title of A Raisin in the Sun from a line in Langston Hughes's famous 1951 poem “Harlem.”

Hughes was a prominent black poet during the 1920s Harlem Renaissance in New York City, during which black artists of all kinds—musicians, poets, writers—gave innovative voices to their personal and cultural experiences.

The Harlem Renaissance was a time of immense promise and hopefulness for black artists, as their efforts were noticed and applauded across the United States.

Themes present in ARITS (A Raisin in the Sun)  ______ ______ ______

Characters

• ______(Mama)—______of the family. She has strong values and ideas about how to run her family; these sometimes conflict with those of her grown children.

• ______(Brother) — Mrs. Younger’s eldest child. He wants to start his own ______, against his family’s wishes. • ______—Walter Lee’s younger sister. She plans to go to ______school after college and has ideals many people find difficult to understand.

• ______—Walter Lee’s wife, who wants a tranquil home, but who experiences difficulty in ______with her husband. Pregnant, she is considering having an abortion.

• ______—Walter and Ruth’s son. Both his parents want him to aim for a life with more ______than they have been able to provide.

• ______—One of Beneatha’s gentleman friends; a fellow student at her school who is originally from ______. In the midst of crisis, he shows Beneatha an unexpected side of his personality.

• ______—Another friend of Beneatha’s. Because he is ______, the family urges Beneatha to ______him, but she is not so sure this is what she wants.

• ______—A white man representing a new-neighbor committee, who wants to make a ______“deal” with the Younger family.

• ______—One of the men Walter wants to start a liquor business with; he delivers some ______news to the family.

• ______—Nosy neighbor of the Youngers, who cannot help hinting that there might be dire ______if the family moves to the new neighborhood.

• ______—Deceased husband of Mrs. Younger. How the money from ______will be used is a source of conflict for the Younger family.